Barna Poll Reveals that Pastors Really Confused About What Preaching Is

Okay, imagine if someone polled a bunch of modern movie directors and asked them, "Which directors do you think influence modern cinema the most?" And the list came back like this:

1. Steven Speilberg
2. Martin Scorcese
3. Oliver Stone
4. Alan Greenspan
5. Michael Moore
6. Mel Gibson

What would strike you about that list? Well, most obviously, you'd notice that a certain non-director seems to be influencing directors, which would be curious. And you'd probably start to think, "How in the world is the film industry influenced by Alan Greenspan? I mean, who watches market reports and says, "Man, feds lowered the prime rate again. I feel a movie coming on about THAT."

This is EXACTLY the feeling I had when I read my friend Jon Fortt's post over on The Cross today.

Fortt reports that George Barna recently completed a survey which asked evangelical preachers to cite who are the most influential people and inspirational people to the American Church. The top six were:

1. Billy Graham
2. Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life, Saddleback Church)
3. James Dobsen (Focus on the Family)
4. George W. Bush (President of the USA)
5. Bill Hybels (WillowCreek)
6. T.D. Jakes (Potter's House)

Uhh...what?

But don't listen to me. Check out Jon's comments. They're much smarter than mine would be. He's got this sardonic wit about him that really lights up my day.